Winner’s and Losers for 2010

Hope you all survived Thanksgiving and had a good time while doing it. Tech news and views inevitably slow down during the holiday season. But, I do manage to find some interesting news and usually lots of free software you might find useful…so stay tuned.

If you like games, light-weight or serious, be sure and look at the “Best Free PC Games” article. There are a ton of games in their, including some solitaire games. Enjoy.

JRC

Tech's Biggest Winners and Losers: 2010

The year's winding down, which means it's time to take stock of the companies, technologies and product categories that had big years, and those that did not.

Avoid the security risk of shortened URLs

The compact URLs produced by services such as TinyURL, bit.ly, is.gd, and many others are convenient and save space, but they can also be used to hide the identity of malicious sites. Fortunately, there are several ways to peek behind a shortened URL to see exactly where the link will take you — before you click it!

Google launches Microsoft Office connector: Keep your legacy Office, use our cloud

The plug-in, dubbed Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office, gives the user a direct link to sync and share documents—Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint—with Google Docs. The documents aren’t reformatted in Google Docs, which is used as a go-between from your legacy Office suite to Google.

Best Free PC Games

Whether you've searched everywhere trying to find the best free game in existence, or just happened to stumble here looking for something to keep your kids occupied, you've come to the right place. This is the showcase for some of the most top-notch, high quality, freeware games out there in each respective category. They really are quite a bang for the lack of a buck.

HTTPS Everywhere | Electronic Frontier Foundation

HTTPS Everywhere is a Firefox extension produced as a collaboration between The Tor Project and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. It encrypts your communications with a number of major websites. This extension was designed to help protect you against FireSheep incursions at public Wi_Fi locations.

Netflix Makes Some Big Changes

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

JRC

Netflix offers $8 streaming-only option

The video rental company will now offer customers a plan that includes the ability to view movies through its streaming service for $7.99 per month. It was quick to point out that its cheapest plan includes no DVD rentals.

Cybersecurity bill gives DHS power to punish tech firms

Democratic politicians are proposing a novel approach to cybersecurity: fine technology companies $100,000 a day unless they comply with directives imposed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. I think this is way over the top!

Best Products of 2010

Just in time for your holiday shopping, here are the 80 top products our analysts picked from hundreds of reviews done this year that rise above the rest.

Microsoft TechNet for the rest of us

Microsoft's TechNet site, dubbed "Resources for IT Professionals," is a rich repository of high-level geek talk plus tips for enterprise-class IT personnel. But don't let that reputation put you off — TechNet is also a gold mine of excellent tips and tricks for individual Windows users as well.

This Has To Be The Easiest Photo-Sharing Site Ever

Assuming you have a supported browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or IE9), just fire up the site, drag some photos onto the empty page, and you're done. Yes, really. It takes just seconds, there's no need to sign up, and the results are superb. Some very clever Javascript code takes care of the uploading, and if you resize your browser then all the images get dynamically resized in real time too.

Tips for Holiday Shopping On-Line

I am back from my 5 day photo safari to the Moab, UT area. Got some great photos at both the Arches National Park and nearby Canyonlands National Park which will start showing up in my “Postcards” blog starting later today.

Not a lot happened in the tech world while I was gone, but here are some interesting stories. I recommend you read the article on Christmas shopping, if you plan to do any shopping on-line like me. Enjoy. 

JRC

U.S.: Beijing backs hacking on 'massive scale'

"Recent high-profile, China-based computer exploitations continue to suggest some level of state support. Indicators include the massive scale of these exploitations and the extensive intelligence and reconnaissance components," noted the report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission's (USCC).

Windows at 25

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Microsoft Windows, since the first version of the product was launched on this day in 1985. Like most people, I never used Windows 1.0, which was by all accounts nothing more than a slightly graphical shell that sat on top of MS-DOS. In fact, the original code-name for Windows--Interface Manager--says everything you need to know about Microsoft's early intentions for the product.

Smart Spending: When To Grab the Best Holiday Deals

Many stores, both online and brick-and-mortar, are are discounting holiday goods earlier than last year because shoppers remain cautious. Generally, retailers are going out with their best prices of the season around the Thanksgiving week on such items as flat-panel TVs, computers and laptops, and the season's hottest toys and clothing.

Computer Trouble Isn't Always What You Think It Is

When things go terribly wrong with technology, you may have to go that extra mile to find the right answers.

AeroWeather Shifts Aero's Color Scheme to Match the Weather

Windows: If you're a fan of passive information delivery, AeroWeather is a clever weather tool that gives you subtle feedback about the weather conditions via Aero's color scheme.

The Dying Days of Window XP

Are the days of XP coming to a close? Yes, if the recent programming trends by Microsoft are any indication. For instance, the latest incarnation of the Windows Live Essentials do not work in XP. Many of the Office Live features are not XP compatible. And, of course, you cannot get it anymore on new computers. I would say its days are numbered. But all is not lost for XP users, as indicated by our first article.

PS: I will not be publishing any editions for a week as I am headed up into the wilds of Southern Utah on a photo safari. But, I will be back!!  JRC

Windows XP: Looking back, looking forward

On October 22, Microsoft pulled the plug on sales of Windows XP, ending the operating system's spectacular nine-year run. With no new copies being sold, support for XP will start to decline. Fortunately, XP's long run has produced a ton of collected wisdom: everything you need to keep your copy going strong and — when ready — to help you move on.

AT&T prepares for the end to iPhone exclusivity

The end of 2010 is close and it looks like AT&T is beefing up its device portfolio and app offerings for a day when it isn't the only U.S. operator offering the Apple iPhone. U.S. Press reports indicate that Verizon Wireless will likely get a version of the iPhone as soon as the first quarter of 2011.

Firefox 4 gets much, much faster

One of the major components essential for the future of Firefox just landed in the beta build of the browser, and it gives the open-source browser the page-rendering speed boost that it had been lacking.

Why You'll Give Up Gmail for Facebook Mail

According to Techcrunch's sources, a full webmail client integrated with The One and Only Social Network will debut next Monday. This is why it may become your favorite webmail service. If I were Google, Yahoo or Hotmail, I'd be very nervous. Facebook Mail could be a killer not only because of its potential instant size, but because of its natural advantage at making mail more useful.

Windows Live Mail 2011 Gets Lassoed By The Ribbon

If you're looking for an excellent, free mail client, you'll do well to install Windows Live Mail 2011. This newest version of Microsoft's free e-mail client has been significantly upgraded over the previous version, and now includes a host of new features, including a calendar pane and Microsoft Office's Ribbon interface. It doesn't include all the bells and whistles of Microsoft Outlook, such as tasks and a full-blown calendar, but given that it's free, Windows Live Mail is well worth the download.

Dallas Cowboys Screw Up On and Off the Field

It’s a slow tech new day, but still managed to find some interesting stories.  Could not resist the story about the Dallas Cowboys forgetting to renew their domain. That whole organization has problems. Anyway, I hope you can find something to interest you in today’s top stories.

JRC

Cowboys fire coach, forget to renew Web domain

According to the Dallas Morning News, the team had forgotten to renew the domain. Which meant that DallasCowboys.com was adorned with a picture of two little boys playing soccer and a suggestion that it was for sale.

Patch Tuesday Leaves Some Vulnerabilities Unpatched

IT administrators got a lighter load from this month's Patch Tuesday, but Microsoft left some vulnerabilities unpatched, including an Internet Explorer zero-day exploit. Office was a key target of this month's Patch Tuesday, with the only critical patch in three security bulletins. Fewer bulletins may let IT administrators catch up from last month.

Business Discounts Added To Facebook Places

A new Deals service expands Facebook Places to let smartphone users find business discounts wherever they are. By tapping the Facebook Places Check In button, users will see nearby places, with yellow icons denoting available deals. An analyst said Deals on Facebook Places is just the beginning of a dynamic mobile commerce opportunity.

Firefox 4 release slips to 2011

Mozilla has pushed back the planned Firefox 4 release to 2011, a delay that's no surprise given the difficulties in releasing the first full-featured beta of the open-source browser--but that also gives breathing room for several competitors.

25 handy Google search tips and tricks

The good thing about Google is that generally, you don't have to be too precise or bend over backwards to find things. When you want something specific, though, or just can't find it the old-fashioned way, these tips will bring it right to your fingertips.

One of My Favorite Add-On’s Will Not Die Afterall

Firefox extension detects FireSheep snoop software

Dubbed BlackSheep, the Firefox extension alerts users when computers on a local area network are using FireSheep to steal unencrypted cookies the websites use to grant users access to their account pages. When BlackSheep detects the snoop software in a hotspot or other open Wi-Fi network, it displays a message that reads “Somebody is using FireSheep on this network.” It then displays the LAN IP address of the offending party.

Cable Subscribers Flee, But Is Internet To Blame?

If "cord-cutting" in favor of Internet video is taking hold, there are wide-ranging implications. Consumers who use the web to get movies and TV bypass not just cable firms, but the networks that produce the content. This could have the same disruptive effect on the TV and movie industries as digital downloads have already had on music.

Xmarks Lives On, Finds Buyer

In September one of my favorite productivity tools, XMarks, was taken off the market when the company that made it closed up shop. XMarks syncs your passwords and bookmarks across browsers, so you can share one set of bookmarks. Since I spend my time shuffling among multiple PCs, at work and at home, the free software has been a godsend. This week the CEO announced that Xmarks would live on thanks to a new buyer.

The lie about so-called 4G gets worse

T-Mobile is now claiming that its 3G network is a 4G one. It's a bald-faced lie -- whatever happened to truth in advertising?

Windows 7 Taskbar Items Pinner Freeware

Although Windows7 already provides a `Pin to Taskbar` option, it only works with .EXE files and certain other shortcuts. The Windows 7 Taskbar Items Pinner allows you to tweak your taskbar by adding shortcuts to common system folders as well as any other folder or file.

More on the Dangers Open Wi-Fi and FireSheep

In our last edition, we talked about how programs like FireSheep open you up to hijacking and snooping when using public un-encrypted Wi-Fi. If you have not read it, please do. It is critical! Currently, over 1/2 million people have downloaded FireSheep. That spells danger for all of us who use public Wi-Fi. 

Also we have talked about CCleaner software here on a few occasions. It has a new, serious upgrade that you should probably download. Have a terrific weekend.

Jim

Cloak your connection to foil Firesheep snoopers

If you're serious about protecting your surfing from prying eyes while on an unencrypted public Wi-Fi connection, the onus is on you to lock down your connections. Using virtual private networking (VPN) is one of the best ways I know to do that. Firesheep has raised the awareness — and hackles — of Wi-Fi users all over the world. It exploits an old, well-known problem called sidejacking. Eric Butler, the author of Firesheep, describes the situation succinctly in his Firesheep post:

Patch Tuesday heads-up: Critical MS Office security holes

After last month’s record-breaking security patch release, Microsoft is offering a November respite. The November Patch Tuesday will feature just three bulletins with fixes for a total of 11 documented vulnerabilities. One of the bulletins will be rated “critical,” Microsoft’s highest severity rating.

Business Discounts Added To Facebook Places

A new Deals service expands Facebook Places to let smartphone users find business discounts wherever they are. By tapping the Facebook Places Check In button, users will see nearby places, with yellow icons denoting available deals. An analyst said Deals on Facebook Places is just the beginning of a dynamic mobile commerce opportunity.

CCleaner 3 delivers nuanced drive wiper

CCleaner hasn't seen many major revisions since Piriform launched it in 2004, but debuting today, CCleaner 3 includes some extremely useful new features that make it worth the upgrade.

Best Free Photo Editing Software

Overexposure, underexposure, random blemishes, red-eye problems, white balance issues, and other visual mishaps will occur, so it's incredibly handy to have a good photo editing application on your PC to make corrections. Fortunately, there are plenty of photo editing applications that can get the job done—for free!

Special Edition–If You Use Public Wi-Fi, You May Be in Serious Trouble

Some new information has come out of a recent hacker’s convention that may change the way we use the public Wi-Fi spots forever. There is a new Firefox Extension now available called “FireSheep” that, when installed on anyone’s computer, will allow you to see who is logged into a public Wi-Fi network, what sites they are logged into, and with a simple click of the mouse, take over their identity on the Net.

Yes you read that correctly. With FireSheep, anyone can see what you are doing on-line and easily steal your on-line identity. They can make changes to your Facebook account, change your e-mail password, and much much worse. Are there ways to prevent this? Yes there is. And I will get to that.

Currently, almost 1/2 million people have downloaded FireSheep into their Firefox browsers. Some folks only want to see if and how it works. Others may have less than honorable intentions. You need to protect yourself and perhaps suggest to your favorite coffee shop or other Wi-Fi connected businesses that they do a simple change to their Wi-Fi routers to protect their customers.

The creators of FireSheep did this to show the world how easy it is to steal your identity and to force a change in the way public Wi-Fi is used. And it is so easy to change!

The easiest fix this is for the Wi-Fi provider to turn on WPA or WPA2 encryption on their routers. Then, just hang a sign on the wall for the password to access the router. For instance, Starbucks could easily put up a large sign saying the password in “Starbucks.” Then no one on line could see anyone else.  Each computer would encrypted differently, even with the same password. I think all public Wi-Fi providers should do this now!!

The second solution would be for you, the user, to use VPN encryption to scramble all your signals to and from your laptop. This is what I have been doing for some time now.  There are both free and paid VPN programs.

For more information on these topics, here are some sources for further reading. Also check out the links in the article for more information:

 

Firesheep Simplifies Stealing Logins

Well, thanks to a new Firefox extension called Firesheep, anyone can easily view other people on their network and, with a click of a button, assume another person's identity and login credentials from any non-secure site that the unwitting person is logged into.

The unvarnished truth about unsecured Wi-Fi

Many of you may have heard this before, but many still seem to not be doing anything about it. You should. Here's why. With a $50 wireless antenna and the right software a criminal hacker located outside your building as far as a mile away can capture passwords, e-mail messages, and any other data being transmitted over your network.

How to Stay Safe on Public Wi-Fi Networks

Just because most wireless routers have a firewall to protect you from the internet doesn't mean you're protected from others connected to the same network. Lots of wireless hotspots these days are completely unencrypted, usually so they're easier to connect to (baristas don't need to be giving out the internet password to everyone that walks in). However, this leaves you unprotected against malicious users in the same coffee shop, so there are a few settings you should always make sure to tweak when you're connected to a public network.

proXPN - Create a FREE VPN Account

This free program will allow you to use a private VPN network in public Wi-Fi locations so that no one can see what you are doing, even with FireSheep.

Yahoo Mail Steps Up and Other Reviews

Yahoo speeds up Mail, adds more Twitter

The company on Wednesday is releasing an overhauled version of its Yahoo Mail Beta client that it says is twice as fast as the previous version, while managing to tack on new features like an integrated Twitter client, rich media previews, and a more full-featured IM client.

Logitech Revue (Google TV) Review

The Logitech Revue with Google TV is loaded with potentially game-changing functionality, but its high price, numerous caveats, and current assortment of bugs make it best-suited to early adopters--at least until promised firmware fixes become available.

Evernote's Windows overhaul adds speed, finesse

Evernote is set to release a new version of its note-taking and Web-clipping Windows software this morning that improves speed, looks, and functionality. In short, it leapfrogs the old version, and then some.

Windows Phone 7 will be a serious game-changer

Love it or hate it, the new Windows Phone 7 mobile OS has success written all over it

Dropbox: File synching and sharing made easy

There's no shortage of services offering file sharing, synching, and collaboration through the Internet. But one service stands out from the rest. Dropbox is one of those simple applications that, once installed, quickly become an indispensable part of your computing process. (Editor's note: This is an in-depth review of Dropbox, which I think is a must-have for everyone).

Browser and Office 2011 Updates

Major security bug fixed in Firefox

Mozilla is advising fans of Firefox to update the stable version of the browser after it released a patch for a security bug marked "critical" today. Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Firefox 3.6.12 patches a heap buffer overflow that could allow for remote code execution.

Google Chrome 7 Review

Google Chrome 7 is not only stable to use, but comes with a full range of competitive features. It lacks some of the fine-tuning customizations in Firefox, but overall users browsing with Chrome will find it a pleasant, fast, and standards-compliant experience.

Office 2011 for Mac goes on sale

On October 26, Microsoft began selling Office 2011, the new Office release for Mac OS X users at retail. Microsoft released to manufacturing Office 2011 on September 10. There are three SKUs, or versions: Office for Mac Home & Student 2011, Office for Mac Home & Business 2011 and Office for Mac Academic 2011.

Barnes & Noble unveils Nook Color e-Reader

A lot of people wondered whether this would be classified as an Android tablet, and while the device does run on Android 2.1 (it will be upgradeable to Android 2.2 next year) and offers additional functionality such as Web browsing, audio and video playback, and some basic games, Barnes & Noble is spinning it as a "reader's tablet." It uses a backlit LED screen rather than e-ink and only has 8 hours of battery life.

Best Free Online Backup Sites

Endless hours of processing backup disks can now be replaced with online backups and file synching services. The necessity of a good backup is more important than ever, with online backups you can safely and simply backup your data into the cloud. An online backup provides 24/7 access to your files from any internet connected computer, smartphone, or tablet style device. Data storage in the cloud is one of the quickest means to data archiving and recovery.

Windows 7: Past, Present and Future

Windows 7, one year later: How's Microsoft doing? And what's next?

This week, Windows 7 celebrates its first birthday. In my original review, I called Windows 7 “as close to an essential upgrade as I have ever seen,” and I predicted that it would improve with age. A year later, I can already see many of those improvements.

Microsoft says Windows 8 roughly two years away

In its most concrete comments yet about the next version of Windows, Microsoft said in a blog post on its Dutch Web site that Windows 8 is about two years from hitting the market.

Facebook Privacy Failure: Latest in Long Line of Blunders

In the latest episode of the gang that couldn't get privacy straight, it was revealed by the Wall Street Journal that many of Facebook's popular applications were unintentionally transmitting the names of the social network's members and, in some cases, their friends' names to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies.

The Greatest Tech Battles of All Time

We've broken down some of our favorites from over the years to see how Jobs vs. Google/RIM stacks up. Let's just say that nothing puts a verbal tiff into perspective quite like watching some grainy footage of a circus elephant getting electrocuted on Coney Island.

Productivity Software: Best of 2010

Put more productivity into your day with superb software such as the Google Chrome browser, and protect your PCs with Microsoft Security Essentials or Norton Antivirus 2011, among other top choices.

What I Use–Part 4

This is a continuation of the article I started several weeks ago (and interrupted by my Chicago vacation) on the hardware and software I personally use. In this edition, I will focus on productivity software.

As you might guess, my productivity software revolves around Microsoft’s Office 2010. While I have used other similar software, such as the free OpenOffice, I always gravitated back to Office. For several years, I used Office 2003. But this year, I moved forward to Office 2010 (skipping Office 2007). In the words of my favorite Microsoft blogger, Paul Therrott, it was a “no-brainer.” Compared to the 2003, this new version is a major revision and I do like most of its new features.

But, let’s talk briefly about the components of Office that I use the most.

1. Microsoft OneNote: Without a doubt this program is the most often-used software on my computer. To put it as succinctly as possible, OneNote is a collection point for almost everything: thoughts, ideas, information, personal information, plans, projects, captured data from the web and almost everything else you can think of. I use it several times a day to store info about my daily activities, to-do lists, data gathered from the Web and much more. OneNote is a large notebook, divided into sections and subsections that you create…and it looks like a notebook with 3 levels of tabs. It is difficult to describe without seeing it, but I encourage anyone who want to become better organized to take a look at it on the Microsoft Web site.

2. Microsoft Outlook: This is my e-mail software of choice, although it goes way beyond that single use. Of all the components of Office 2010, Outlook has the largest number of improvement and new features, far too numerous to mention here. Besides e-mail, Outlook handles my address book, to-do lists, calendar, scheduling, and notes. My cell phone is a Blackberry and I use their desktop software to sync all my Outlook data to my phone. Believe it or not, I use the Notes section of Outlook to make up my grocery lists, so if you see me wandering around a grocery store with my phone in my hand, you know what I am doing. I also have another list of books I want to buy someday so I am ready whenever I wander into a bookstore.

3. Microsoft Word: It’s the most used word processor in the entire world and for good reason. You are all probably very familiar with it so I won’t go into details about it, but it is better than ever. A quick word here about the Ribbon Interface now used it all Office products: while I am not 100% comfortable with it, I have found a work-around in that I can put my own most often used functions in a toolbar at the top of screen and keep the ribbon closed until I need it. I created my own personal toolbar for each of the Office products.

4. Microsoft Excel: As the most used spreadsheet in all the word, I use it and like it very much and, again, won’t go into details as you probably know more about it than me.

5. Microsoft PowerPoint: As a retired person, I don’t have a need for it anymore. I only mention it as it has so many new improvements in the 2010 version that make it better than ever before. As it does automatically create presentations for the Web, I might play with it someday for my own Web site.

The other productivity software I should mention here is Quicken. I am using version 2009 to handle my personal finances. It is far more powerful than my humble needs, but it is a good program still, after all these years.

More to come…

Browser Updates in the News

Mozilla Firefox Update Squashes Nine Security Bugs

Mozilla repaired a slew of bugs Wednesday in a comprehensive Firefox update totaling nine fixes, five of which are deemed critical. Altogether, the latest version, Firefox 3.6.11, addresses five flaws that enable hackers to launch malicious attacks onto users' systems remotely, as well as two errors that carry the slightly less severe rating of "high" and one that is considered "moderate."

Chrome moves to version 7 on schedule

Google recently adopted an accelerated release cycle for its Chrome browser, pushing out a new stable release every six weeks. Google Chrome 7.0.517.41 for Windows, Mac, and Linux introduces the majority of Chrome users to features that have been available to beta and developer's build users for several months, as well as fixing hundreds of bugs that affected the browser's stability.

Stuxnet: Smarter -- and deadlier -- than the average worm

Now we have Stuxnet, which has deservedly garnered a fair share of media coverage over the past few months. The malware is unlike any threat we've previously seen. If Stuxnet is a sign of things to come, it will be difficult to believe that our biggest malware fears were merely boot viruses, rogue file attachments, and macro viruses.

How Starbucks is trying to change the media

Caffeine behemoth Starbucks on Tuesday finally unveiled its revamped Web hub, a landing page that's only accessible from its in-store Wi-Fi networks in the U.S. Teaming with the likes of Yahoo (the main technology partner), The Wall Street Journal, GOOD, The New York Times, iTunes, LinkedIn, and Foursquare, Starbucks has packed the new site full of news both local and mainstream (including content that would normally be behind paywalls), free music download promos, local information like weather and bike trails, and movie trailers.

Google To Bring Dead Sea Scrolls Online

A joint project between Google and Israel's Antiquities Authority will grant free, global access to the 2,000-year-old Dead Sea Scrolls, one of the greatest archaeological finds of the last century, by uploading high-resolution images that are exact copies of the originals. The scrolls are kept in dark, temp-controlled rooms at the Israel Museum.

Catching You (and Me) Up

I am back from two great weeks in Chicago. In many ways sad to come home, but it’s a good thing I like Tucson.  So, here now are a few things we missed while I was away:

Windows Phone 7 Offers the Best of Apple and Android

Microsoft appears to have taken the best from rivals Apple and Android in its new Windows Phone 7 operating system. Its innovative approach to Windows Phone 7 uses Qualcomm hardware for iPhone reliability and offers Android's development flexibility. The initial Windows Phone 7 launch is limited to the GSM networks of AT&T and T-Mobile.

Facebook Groups: Hands On

Last week, Facebook held a press conference to announce even bigger changes to the site: the ability to download your Facebook data, a new app control panel, and - of the most far reaching importance - a new Groups capability.

Mission interface image - Google Earth tackles the universe

Google announced it is partnering with Slooh, a service popular with astronomy buffs that lets its users view live events through its global network of observatories, and take photographs of what they see. The Internet giant will integrate data from Slooh into its Google Sky service.

Borders launches e-book publishing platform with BookBrewer

Want to write a book and get it published? Well, now it’s getting even easier for aspiring and independent authors to get their work to the masses these days. Borders has now launched an e-book publishing platform of its own.

10 great free desktop productivity tools that aren't OpenOffice.org

These free and open source applications for Windows, Linux, and Mac desktops put power into the hands of users without taking from their wallets

I Forgot to Tell You…

With the publication of today’s Rants and Raves, I will be taking a couple of weeks off and heading for Chicago. I will resume publication of  this blog when I return. If I run into any interesting timely stories, I will publish them here, so stay tuned.

To follow my adventures in Chicago, along with some photos, check out my updates on my Web site’s “Front Burner” page…or on Twitter or Facebook.  See you soon.

Should the Govt. Be Able to Shut Down Web Sites at Will?

Fight for Senate antipiracy bill rages

Killing legislation that would enable the government to shut down Web sites accused of piracy was a top priority for many technology trade groups today. Last week, a Senate committee stunned the tech sector by announcing it would try to fast-track a bill designed to grant the U.S. Department of Justice wide authority to combat illegal file sharing and counterfeiting. Critics say the proposed legislation, known as the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, is nothing more than censorship and would heap the copyright-protection problems on companies that shouldn't bear the burden. Giving the government the right to shut down websites would put us on a par with China for censorship.

Windows Live Essentials 2011 released

Microsoft has just released the final version of Windows Live Essentials 2011, an update for the popular Windows Live Essentials suite of downloadable Windows applications. The suite is a free download from Microsoft, compatible with Windows Vista and Windows 7.

Microsoft Security Essentials: Free, so what's the catch?

As I live on the edge without any virus protection, it will only be a matter of time before I pick something up -- which is why I was interested in Microsoft's recent release of the second version of OneCare's successor, Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). MSE provides real-time protection for home PCs, although Microsoft is promising that enterprise support for small business is on the way.

Windows 7: The Top 10 Hidden Features

There are plenty of hidden features and goodies in the depth of Windows 7. We'll tell you where to find them.

Best Free Notes Organizer

In today's electronic world, it can be quite a challenge to organize all useful information such as web clips, articles, bits of text, images, interesting web links, bookmarks, shopping lists, to-do lists, recipes, tips and many others that are hanging around your PC. It seems to be a common easy task but a difficult one to sort out as the information is so disparate. Some folks have tried to get it organized by using free form databases while others use beefed up text editors or multi-media snippet managers. If you're one of them or just would like to look for a useful tool to organize your random bits of information, you might find that some of these freeware products come in handy and helpful.

Xmarks to Shut Down

Xmarks Blog - End of the Road for Xmarks

This post attempts to summarize the Xmarks story: how we got to be the most heavily used browser synchronization service in the world and yet still find ourselves pulling the plug.

Microsoft Issues Emergency Patch for Windows Web Bug

As promised, Microsoft today delivered an emergency patch for a Windows Web server flaw that is being actively exploited by hackers. The fix addresses a vulnerability in ASP.Net's encryption that attackers could abuse to access Web applications with full administrator rights; decrypt session cookies or other encrypted data on a remote server; and access and snatch files from sites or Web applications.

OpenOffice.org Volunteers Cut Ties with Oracle

The volunteers behind the OpenOffice.org competitor to Microsoft Office have severed ties with Oracle and formed The Document Foundation. Oracle got OpenOffice.org with its purchase of Sun Microsystems. Under The Document Foundation, OpenOffice is called LibreOffice, and the break with Oracle is being lauded by the open-source industry.

Amazon Puts E-Books Everywhere with Kindle for the Web

A new Kindle for the Web beta from Amazon.com lets readers sample new book titles in any recent browser. Readers of Amazon's e-books can read the first chapter free and adjust Kindle for the Web as needed.

Taskbar Items Pinner Pins Anything to the Windows 7 Taskbar

Windows 7: Free utility Taskbar Items Pinner adds pre-defined or user-defined folders, files, and even web pages to the Windows 7 taskbar.

Politics, Privacy, and State-Sponsored Viruses

Cybersecurity: Stuxnet Suspicions Rise: Has a Cyberwar Started?

The Stuxnet worm has been rattling security experts for quite some time with its complexity and ingenuity. New suspicions have been raised recently that the worm was used to sabotage a nuclear reactor in Iran. That, coupled with the worm's behavior, has led to some speculation that Stuxnet is a state-sponsored weapon. Iran was perhaps hit hardest by Stuxnet, with nearly 60 percent of all infected PCs found in that country.

Report: Feds to push for Net encryption backdoors

The Obama administration will seek a new federal law forcing Internet e-mail, instant-messaging, and other communication providers offering encryption to build in backdoors for law enforcement surveillance, The New York Times reported today.

Browser Betas: The Future of Web Surfing

Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, and Chrome all have beta browsers available for download. Here's a look at the Web of the near future.

Stop Using Windows XP, Please

I have no nostalgia for Windows XP. It was a decent operating system with its share of problems, but the longer I run it in the office, while using a smaller Windows 7 laptop as my mobile system and working on a Windows 7 machine at home, the more I notice its shortcomings. Windows XP lacks stability, strong security features like BitLocker, universal search, the Aero interface, innumerable usability features, Device Stage and the overall speed enhancements I enjoy in Windows 7. On the other hand, thanks to three service packs, it does still work.

Five great Firefox privacy add-ons

It's getting more and more difficult to protect your privacy on the Web. Just as we're invited to share our thoughts and experiences with friends, family, and the universe, there's somebody recording it all and looking to make a buck from it, legally or otherwise. The key is to find the right balance between the Web's convenience and your security.

What I Use–Part 3

This is a continuation of the article I started three weeks ago on the hardware and software I personally use. In this edition, I will focus on specialized software, mostly used for specific organizational functions such as music, DVD’s, eBooks, etc.…plus more.

1. Music: For my music, podcasts, audio books and even some videos, I use an 80GB iPod Classic. If you use an iPod, you are almost forced to use the free Apple’s iTunes. Now, you will hear a lot of Windows users complaining about iTunes (but not many Apple users). It is extremely bloated, has some stuff you really don’t need, and is a pain to upgrade as you must download the whole program again. But, frankly, I have never had a problem with using it and it does the job pretty well…keeping all my music organized and readily accessible. There are other programs that do almost the same thing and will work with iPods, but all fall short of iTunes, if you use an iPod. And for educational podcasts and videos, you cannot beat the wealth of free materials in the iTunes store.

2. DVD Organization: If you collect DVD’s of movies and TV shows, check out Invelos’ DVDProfiler. It is an excellent way to keep your collection organized. When you enter a new DVD, it pulls all the information about the DVD into the data file…actors, director’s, synopsis, cover art etc. Basically, you don’t have to enter anything except the name, or even better, the DVD’s bar code number. Everything else is filled out for you, with room for you to make notations. It is free, although there is a $30 paid version you might want to purchase if you get seriously involved.

3. E-book Organizer: As mentioned here before, I use Amazon’s Kindle for a great portion of my reading. The number of books available to me number in the millions and many of them are free and come from other places besides Amazon. If I order a book from Amazon, it is easy as the book is sent to my Kindle wirelessly within a minute of my purchase. But, if I get books from other sources, I used a free program called “Calibre.” This great program is an excellent organizer program that can do many things besides collecting book purchases when you download them. It can collect books done in most other formats and convert them into the Kindle format, then send them to my Kindle via USB. But Calibre works with all book readers and formats, so if you bought a Sony Reader or Barnes and Noble Nook, you will want Calibre also. It has many other functions besides those mentioned here, but if you have an e-reader of any type, Calibre is a must!

4. Web Page Design – In the past, I used a discontinued software product from Symantec called “Visual Page.” It has been discontinued for some time, but I still find myself using it. For the most part, I use a program from Serif called WebPlus X2. It takes some time to learn how to use it (I found that to be true with all Web Page design programs), but I like it a great deal and it does a very good job for me. I am sure I have not fully realized its entire potential, but I am getting there slowly by surely. This is not a free program. The cost is around $80 and the current version is X4.

5. FTP Program: FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol and is the program I use to send newly created and revised Web pages up to my Website. For this specialized software, I use Filezilla, another free program that is just excellent and is probably the choice of the majority of Web site designers. It is a dream to use.

Next time, I will focus on productivity software, such as spreadsheets, word processing and much more.

Special Edition–A Look at Internet Explorer 9

Internet Explorer 9 beta review: Microsoft reinvents the browser

It is, without question, the most ambitious browser release Microsoft has ever undertaken, and despite the beta label it is an impressively polished product.

Internet Explorer 9 Feature Focus - Pinned Web Sites

Unlike other web browsers, Internet Explorer 9 integrates with Windows in a very deep way, especially Windows 7. And the best Windows integration feature in IE 9, arguably, is its support of pinned web sites. That is, IE 9 allows you to pin your favorite web sites to the Windows 7 taskbar in a manner that is similar to the way you pin favorite applications.

What's Missing in IE9?

It goes without saying that IE9 is still in beta, so many or all of these annoyances may be fixed before final release sometime in 2011. I realize that I’ve certainly missed some things and have probably been a bit picky on some others, but here is what comes to mind:

Microsoft: IE9 will never run on Windows XP

Microsoft has ruled out putting Internet Explorer 9 on Windows XP, leaving millions of PCs open to Mozilla and Google browsers providing hardware-accelerated rich-internet. PS: It is also missing a few important features when running on Vista. IE9 is best used on Windows 7.

How to uninstall Internet Explorer 9

Maybe you've seen enough of the Internet Explorer 9 beta for now -- you just wanted a taste, but you'd rather not use a beta browser on a day-to-day basis. Maybe you just want to know how to uninstall it because other people are going to ask you how to do it. Unlike most other programs on your computer, however, you won't find IE9 listed on the Uninstall or change a program screen.

Download the IE9 Beta

You must choose whether you are running a 32 bit or 64 bit version of Windows 7 or Windows Vista. This new IE will not work in Windows XP. And if you choose to install it, you will no longer have use of IE8.